Natural Born Thief
by IcyFlame23
Summary: Ten years after his last heist, Sly has given up thievery to start a family with Carmelita. Their son Danny is a troublemaker from the start,already stealing for fun. Sly and Carmelita do their best to hide their past from their son, but as Danny discovers his heritage, an old enemy arises determined to destroy Sly and his family once and for all.
1. Chapter 1

Natural Born Thief

Chapter 1

Discovery

From the very start, Danny Cooper was a mischievous little raccoon. On his first day of elementary school, Danny got in trouble for stealing all of his classmate's lunches, which resulted in a detention after school

. His parents tried to teach him that stealing was wrong, but Danny couldn't fight the urge. He said there was something inside him that was compelling him to steal. Sly understood more than Carmelita did. Even if it had been ten years since his last heist, the Cooper's thieving legacy still flowed through his veins. He did his best to keep that part of his life a secret from Danny out of respect for Carmelita.

When the two married ten years ago, Carmelita made Sly promise never to reveal his past to their son. She was determined to end the Cooper legacy at Sly. As much as Sly hated the idea, he reluctantly agreed, out of his love for Carmelita. But as the years rolled on, Sly could see that the Cooper thieving technique was definitely in his son's veins. Carmelita scolded him every time he was caught stealing, reminding him that it was against the law and he could go jail for it.

Carmelita had been promoted to police commissioner recently, so her duties had increased ten-fold. She often had to work late nights, investigating various crimes throughout Paris. Sly had joined Interpol a few years ago as well. Though he didn't enjoy it nearly as much as thieving, he was still happy to help Carmelita out.

Danny grew up in a house with strict rules. He wasn't allowed to cross the street without an adult nearby, and he wasn't allowed to sleep over at any of his friend's houses. Danny loved his parents dearly, but he couldn't help but long for something more.

He wanted to be a normal kid, but he parents didn't think normal was appropriate for him. One day at school, Danny was caught stealing food out of the cafeteria. The principal immediately called Carmelita, who had to stop what she was doing and drive all across down just to pick him up. When she entered the principal's office, she found Danny sitting in a chair against the wall with his head hung low.

"What's this about?" she asked, eager to get back to work.

"Mrs. Cooper, I'm sorry to have to call you down here on such short notice, but it seems that Danny has been caught stealing again" Principal Warton, a small warthog said.

Carmelita flashed her son an angry glare. She was really going to let him have it this time.

"He was caught leaving the cafeteria early this morning with a shirt full of cookies. He denied stealing from the cafeteria, claiming he brought them from home. He also said that you made them. Is that true?"

"No sir," Carmelita replied. Now he's lying? What next?

"I thought so. Well, Mrs. Cooper I really don't want to do this, but you leave me no choice. Until Danny can get his kleptomania under control he is suspended from Paris Elementary. "

Carmelita lowered her head in disgust. She hoped it wouldn't have come to this. Danny was a good boy, but he did have his father's blood. So it was only natural that he would feel the need to steal for fun. After bidding Principal Warton farewell, she and Danny left the school. During the ride home, neither Danny nor Carmelita said a word. Each knew there was nothing to say. Carmelita had scolded Danny more times than she could count. She was out of ideas. When they arrived home, Carmelita escorted Danny to his room.

"We'll talk when your father gets home," she said. "Until then you're confined to your room. I'm very disappointed in you."

She locked the door behind her and Danny listened until he heard her car back out of the driveway. Afterwards, he removed the lock pick he had designed and unlocked the door to his room.

Opening the door, he crept out into the hallway and ran towards the attic. He was never allowed to go there, so now was his chance to check it out.

Once he was inside, he was surrounded by boxes.

"Mom and dad really need to clean this place out," he said.

He started to explore his new surroundings, searching to see if there was anything worth opening. But just as he turned the corner, a box fell off the shelf, bursting open instantly.

"Great. Now I'm going to get in more trouble."

Danny ran over to the box to put whatever fell out back inside, but as he reached for the items, he saw something that caught his eye. A book with a red cover and gold letters. It looked very old, and was covered in dust. He picked it up to get a closer look.

"The Thievius Racoonus?" What's this?"

He opened the book and flipped through the pages. Inside, he saw pictures of raccoons stealing priceless items and details on how to steal as well. But what caught his eye was a certain picture embedded in the pages. A picture of his father with a turtle and a hippotamaus holding a giant ruby.

"What is this?" he said aloud.

Just then a voice came from behind him.

"Don't you know you're not supposed to be in here?"

Danny turned around to find his father standing behind him. He had come home from work early.

"Dad, I was just looking around and I found this. He held up the book to show his father. Sly opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words.

"Dad, what is this book about? There's a picture of you in it," Danny said.

Sly walked over to his son and sat beside him. He took the book from his hands and looked at it himself. It had been ten years since he'd seen it. He knew it was time. Danny had the right to know about his heritage. He knew he would be breaking his promise to Carmelita, but Danny had to know the truth.

**I apologize for the cliffhanger; I'll have the next chapter uploaded as soon as possible. I hope you're enjoying it so far!**

**Please Review**


	2. A New Beginning

**Chapter 2:**

**A New Beginning **

For the next few hours, Sly told Danny all about the Cooper clan. He told him about Tennessee Kid Cooper, Riochi Cooper, and all the thieving techniques that they had created. He talked about Bentley and Murray and the everlasting bond they shared. But most importantly: he told him about Clockwork and how he murdered his parents and stole the Thievius Raccoonus to prove that he was the greatest thief of all time. When Sly had turned eighteen, he made it his mission to hunt down Clockwork and the rest of the Fiendish Five and reclaim what they had stolen. Danny was intrigued by every tale. He always knew his father was hiding something, he just didn't know what. But this was it. He was a natural born thief, from a long line of master thieves. It was his destiny.

"Why did you give up thievery?"

Sly sighed. It was a question that he often asked himself as well. There was a solid answer, but it still didn't feel right.

"I gave up thievery to be with your mother," he said.

Sly explained how Carmelita had chased him and his gang for many years, vowing to one day throw them all behind bars.

"One day, she gave me a choice. Either give up thievery altogether and be with her, or continue to live the life of a criminal. It was a tough decision. But in the end, I knew where my priorities lay. I loved your mother, and she loved me. I made a promise to her to give up thievery once and for all. It was hard, but I managed."

"Don't you ever miss it?" Danny asked.

"Oh yes," Sly said smiling. "I often get that itch where I want to pull a heist. It's been ten years, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. "

"I want to be a master thief too," Danny said, looking at the Thievius Raccoonus."

Sly frowned. He wished his son could follow in his footsteps, but a promise is a promise. He didn't want things to end badly between him and Carmelita. After years of chasing after him and his gang, he had finally convinced her that he loved her and they had settled down and started a family.

As much as Sly wanted to return to a life of crime, his family meant more. After putting the rest of the items back in the box, Sly took Danny downstairs for dinner. Carmelita wouldn't be home that evening. She was busy investigating a recent robbery at the Fine Arts museum, leaving Sly and Danny to fend for themselves.

While they were eating, Danny kept thinking about what his father had told him. He was a thief, from a long line of master thieves. It was in his blood. Why did his father deny it? All those adventures he and his gang had back in the day, all the heists they pulled off, it all sounded incredible! Surly life on the opposite side of the law wasn't as fun.

After dinner, Sly sent Danny to bed, as part of the agreement he made with Carmelita. When Danny was sure Sly was asleep, he crept out of his room and went to the attic. He found the box he'd opened earlier, and removed the black mask and cane from it as well as the Thievius Raccoonus.

Placing the mask around his eyes, he took a stance and waved his father's cane for the first time. It felt so good. He was going to follow in Sly's footsteps and become a master thief. First, he had to form his own gang. He hoped he could find guys like Bentley and Murray. They sounded like they made the perfect teammates. Before leaving the house, Danny left a calling card beside Sly's bed. He hoped this would be enough to explain why he was running away. And just like that, Danny was off on his very own adventure in becoming a master thief.

* * *

Danny was never allowed outside at night. Carmelita believed it was too dangerous, and she didn't want him to get hurt. Danny crept quietly down a back alleyway, gripping his cane tightly. He found a dumpster to hide behind, and quickly took out the Thievius Raccoonus to read.

He read all about Rioichi Cooper's Ninja Spire Jump technique and Tennessee Kid Cooper's Rail Walk and Rail slide move. He couldn't wait to try the moves out. Stepping out of the alleyway, he looked up at the sky. He figured he would get a better view from the rooftops, so he started to climb the gutter hanging aside one of the buildings. He then leapt from building to building, savoring the cool night air on his face. This was it. He was finally living the life of a true thief. But he first had to pull off a heist. Earlier that day, Sly had told Danny about the number one rule of the Cooper Clan: "You only steal from other thieves." Danny intended to uphold this rule and steal from the greediest of robbers.

After soaring over the rooftops for an hour, Danny came upon an abandoned building with Rottweilers going inside holding large brown boxes.

"I got to check this out," Danny said.

He ran across the clothesline that was hung between buildings, and then slid down the gutter. The dogs had forgotten to lock the door behind them, so Danny was able to sneak inside through the front door. Once inside, he heard voices from down the corridor. Remembering what he read in the Thievius Raccoonus about stealth, he crept quietly along the floorboards, making sure not to make any noise. When he got to the end of the hallway, he saw that a door was cracked open. He knelt down and took a peek inside. There he saw the dogs from earlier unloading the boxes. Inside, were large paintings that looked very valuable.

"Be careful with the merchandise, boys" said a voice from across the room. "If one of you punks scratches them, it's your head!"

Danny watched as a large purple bulldog walked out into the middle of the room where the rest of the dogs were.

"Yes sir, Muggshot. We'll be extra careful.

"Muggshot" Danny whispered to himself. He was an original member of the Fiendish Five, one of the goons who murdered Sly's parents and stole the Thievius Raccoonus. Sly had told him how he tracked down and defeated Muggshot in Mesa City many years ago. Several years later, he encountered him again in the ACEs competition in Holland. Muggshot and his men were unloading large portraits from the crates each wrapped in plastic.

"Do you think Interpol is onto us?" one of the dogs asked.

"Not a chance. That cop hag ain't got nothing on us. Just load the crates into the truck outside, boys. Next stop Sicily!" Muggshott cried.

"These are the guys who robbed the Fine Arts museum" Danny thought to himself. Mom's been investigating it for weeks. This will be perfect for my first heist." Just before Danny could spring into action, he heard the click of a gun behind him.

"On your feet raccoon."

**Please Review!**


End file.
